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The winger-turned-striker really moved up a gear last season, bagging seven goals and having a hand in countless others. This season he's continued his progress, flourishing in his new role as a central striker, and already has five goals to his name, with a few spectacular strikes in amongst them, most notably his thunderbolt against Swansea a couple of weeks ago.
But Matty's performances haven't gone unnoticed. The Middlesbrough-born forward is becoming a regular feature in the Football League's League One team of the week - and his searing pace and spectacular goals have prompted scouts from a number of clubs to descend on Priestfield to watch Matty in action. Even Gills old boy-turned-radio pundit Iffy Onuora has said he thinks Matty's time at Priestfield could soon be about to end.
If the various stories are to be believed, we've had the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and...erm...Colchester United sniffing around. So far, none of the big boys have made a move, largely due to the transfer window, but it has been rumoured that in the last window Colchester United had a cheeky (some might say derisory) £300,000 bid turned down by the club.
With Matty's contract expiring in the summer, he'll be able to talk to potential suitors and decide on his future if approached. However, his age (he's under 24) and the fact he's come through the Gills academy setup means the club would be due a transfer fee for him if he did leave in the summer. If the clubs can't agree a fee, a tribunal would set the price, leaving the valuation of Gillingham's best player in the hands of people outside the club.
It is highly unlikely that the club could offer Matty a competitive contract - and it's even less likely that Matty would be able to resist the lure of a big Premiership (or even a top half Championship) club if one came knocking. So, sadly for Gills fans, it looks cut and dried. Matty Jarvis will almost certainly be leaving Priestfield sooner rather than later. The only questions are "who to?" and "when?"
It leaves the club in a serious dilemma. Matty is without doubt the club's most potent attacker. He is involved in more goals (either as a provider or as a scorer) than any of our other attacking players, and would be sorely missed if he left the club in the transfer window. But we would be likely to get a better offer for him in January than perhaps we might at the end of the season when his transfer fee could be decided by tribunal.
With the club's debt running into eight figures, it's in the club's best interests to get as much as possible for Jarvis. But it may also be in the club's best interest to keep him on as long as possible, as it's unlikely we'll be able to reinvest any money we get for Jarvis into a suitable replacement.
The sad truth is whoever does sign Matty will almost certainly get a bargain. Bristol City sold their young forward David Cotterill to Wigan Athletic for £2m in the first transfer window, and this writer's opinion is that Matty is arguably a better player than Cotterill. But it's almost unthinkable to imagine the Gills receiving anything like £2m for Matty. Clubs will most likely offer a ridiculously low transfer fee for Matty, knowing that at the end of the season a tribunal will probably rule a reasonably low fee anyway. The only hope GFC has is the possibility of a bidding war between some of the richer interested clubs. But even if we do receive a decent fee for him, the club will almost certainly be in a worse state after his departure.
The sale of Matt Jarvis may provide a small repayment for our crippling debts, but it will also leave our football club toothless in attack, bereft of creativity, and without the one player who was something of a hero to the next generation of Gillingham fans. Whenever he goes, however much we receive for him, losing Matty Jarvis is going to be a massive blow to our football club and to our young fans. Not since Robert Taylor has a Gills forward created such excitement and anticipation when he gets possession of the ball. He's no Super Bob, but Matty Jarvis puts bums on seats, no mean feat in our current situation. Without him, these fans may take their bums elsewhere, such is the fickle nature of many Medway-based football fans these days.
The Gills fans will wish him well when he goes, and will follow his career with great interest, but they will also fear for the health of their football club. In a depressing time to be a Gillingham fan, Matty's performances on the pitch are one of the very few positives the fans can enjoy.
We can only hope that when he goes, the bank allows us to retain some of the fee to fund a replacement, because without one, we could find ourselves in trouble in the league once again. We're not a one-man team, but when it comes to creating and scoring goals, we're not too far off it.